Governor Antonio leads orientation of PRDP among LGUs

Cagayan Governor Alvaro T. Antonio led the spearheading of the orientation on the Localization of the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) among different municipalities of the province. The orientation was held last August 20, 2013 at the Kammaranan Hall, Capitol Hills, Tuguegarao City.

The PRDP is a program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) which seeks to introduce new innovations for a climate-resilient agriculture and fisheries sector. It includes major components namely I-Plan, I-Build, I-Reap and I-Support.

According to Governor Antonio, the PRDP aims to help local government units (LGUs) fund their priority projects and programs. Governor Antonio added that the workshop was organized in order to give LGUs to prepare their feasibility studies before the end of the year. The implementation of the PRDP project is 2014.

During the orientation, an overview of the program was described by Director Lucrecio Alviar Jr.. He explained the process and mechanics of the funding scheme of the program. The first requirement by the World Bank is the planning of the Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) to qualify for funding. Director Alviar urged all municipalities to come up with their own value chain analysis (VCA), which is more than a feasibility study. “The VCA is not only for the subsistence of the projects but more for surpluses for all the beneficiaries,” Dir. Alviar added.

On the other hand, Director Lorenzo Caranguian presented the PRDP components. “The secret of the program is the approach of obtaining a VCA in the I-Plan component, which is the most important package of the PRDP. Briefings and trainings will be provided accordingly to all LGUs,” Caranguian said.
The PRDP is a convergence of all the departments of the region and is aimed to add a 5% increase in annual real household income of farmers and their beneficiaries.

The PRDP is the first funding for rural development in Cagayan, wherein 90% of the budget will come from the World Bank and Department of Agriculture, and 10% will be the counterpart of the LGUs. The funding will be directly led by the Provincial Government of Cagayan (PGC) dependent on the linking of project based on commodity.

“The budget for the 2014 preparation for priority commodities is identified by the LGUs. Feasibility studies are accomplished with costing and program of work are submitted by November 2013 and endorsed to the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) for approval. Priority projects are provided 10-20% budget from the total costs of the projects,” Governor Antonio said.

Cagayan is the first province to undertake the PRDP in Luzon, and to ensure the impetus of such beneficial project, Governor Antonio and Vice-Governor Leonides Fausto have agreed to fund the counterpart of the PRDP projects in Cagayan.

The PGC through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA), and the PPDO facilitated the orientation. Present during the activity were Board Members, Local Chief Executives, Municipal Agriculturists, and Municipal Planning and Development coordinators.